Never Give Up - Jackie Chan's Oscar.

Jackie Chan finally got it. He won't deny that he wanted it bad. He recalled visiting Stallone's house 23 years ago and "touching, kissing and smelling the American actor's Oscar statuette."

Last week Jackie Chan accepted an honorary Oscar and this is what he said: "After 56 years in the film industry, making more than 200 films - I broke so many bones - finally this is mine."

Lesson? Don't give up. There is no force on earth greater. No storm, tide or persuasion can ever hope to thwart a never-say-die mindset.

Don't give up is not a self-improvement jingle. It is not a feel-good nursery rhythm. It is not a camp fire sing-along to fire up the soul or a cheerleader's chant to charge up the mind. It is much deeper than all that. It is not form; it's substance.

Don't give up is the real thing. It is the one thing that separates success from failure, living with hope from living without.

And if you want to know what it means to not give up, ask a grandmother who has to take care of her grandchildren whose parents have died of poverty-related illness, ask a father who waits by the prison gate to heartily welcome his son home, ask a wife who stands by her husband who is diagnosed with dementia at a young age, ask a husband who celebrates his golden wedding anniversary with a resilient love forged in the furnace of life, or ask a young man who forgoes the easy road to tainted wealth and fame for a life lived by principles - even if it means alienation and ridicule.

Life opens doors to a spirit that pushes every one of them regardless of the negative chant of the naysayers. At one's crossroad, it is perseverance that takes that crucial step forward to one's destination. And at the lowest point of one's valley of doubt, fear and pain, no better companion can one find than a spirit to fight on, to complete the race and to scale that mountain for the glory that awaits.

Don't give up makes the enduring difference. It does not see the worst day as a defeat. It sees it as a step closer. It does not see the deepest cut of disappointment as a siren call to abandon the effort. It sees it as a temporary setback. And it does not see failure as final (or sealed fate). It sees it as just one more way that doesn't work - a learning experience; not a crushing one.

In other words, it doesn't amplify or magnify defeat, disappointment or failure, but it keeps the focus, pushes all doors open and marches on with unshaken hope, unbounded passion and renewed belief. The wounds heal with time, and the pain fades with keeping one's eye on the horizon.

So, kudos to people like Jackie Chan, parents who fight on despite the daily grind, teachers who never give up on their students others have given up on, spouses who guard their marriage with hope, love and a clear conscience, and all those who step up to the plate to complete the race.

Indeed, Galatians is spot on when it proclaims this: "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." We all need to be reminded of this once in a while - especially on a Monday. Cheerz.